This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119 of Federal Republic of Germany patent application no. DE 100 28 159.1, filed Jun. 7, 2000, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The invention relates to an oil module for an internal combustion engine comprising a carrier element, an oil pump integrated in the carrier element, an oil filter, which is flange-mounted to the carrier element, and a pressure control valve.
An oil module of this general type is known, for example, from EP 0 838 577 A1. The oil supply system of an engine described in this document extends along an end face of the engine. It is adjoined by an oil pan with an oil pump, which sucks oil out of the oil pan and at the same time drives the oil circuit to supply the engine with oil. An oil cooler also is provided, which is connected with the coolant circuit and the oil circuit, and which is equipped with an oil filter. The fluid connections between oil module and engine are provided by lines that are integrated into the oil module.
A drawback of this known oil module is that, although a plurality of elements is combined into a module, the arrangement of these elements involves a highly complex arrangement of the lines and thus results in a very complex construction of the module.
Further, DE 196 26 867 discloses a carrier part for the lubricant oil supply and oil treatment elements in an internal combustion engine. This carrier part is intended to accommodate as many of these elements as possible and has seats for an oil filter, an oil cooler, an oil pressure control valve and a bypass duct. In addition, corresponding oil carrying ducts are formed in the carrier part.
A drawback of this carrier part is that a reliable seal is required on the internal combustion engine due to the plurality of the connections. The carrier part itself is not equipped with the individual components, but is only a mounting element for the components. This has the further drawback that leakage problems can occur due to the plurality of mounting points.
It is an object of the invention is to provide an oil module which obviates the foregoing drawbacks.
Another object of the invention is to provide an oil module for an internal combustion engine, which directly contains a plurality of oil supply components and thus requires only a few sealing locations.
These and other objects are achieved in accordance with the present invention by providing an oil module for an internal combustion engine, comprising a carrier element, an oil pump integrated in said carrier element, an oil filter which is flange-mounted to the carrier element, and at least one pressure control valve, wherein the carrier element is made of synthetic resin material and covers a flange area of the internal combustion engine, and wherein a housing for the oil pump is arranged on the carrier element in the flange area of the internal combustion engine.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the objects are achieved by providing a sealing ring made of a thermoplastic synthetic resin material with an injection-molded sealing or dirt lip made of polytetrafluoroethylene and an injection molded silicon seal for axial sealing of a shaft, wherein an assembly sleeve, which pre-positions the sealing lips, is provided for inserting the shaft, and an assembly dummy of the shaft precisely centers the sealing ring on a receiving flange.
The essential advantage of the invention is that the carrier part, which is made of synthetic resin material, i.e. plastic, covers a flange area of the internal combustion engine, and the crankshaft, which directly drives the oil pump integrated into the oil module, extends in the flange area. This achieves a very compact unit. Furthermore, the use of synthetic resin material has the advantage of providing a simple and effective seal, while being inexpensive to produce and having low weight.
According to one embodiment of the invention, the oil filter is a casing oil filter. The casing forms a direct part of the carrier element. Inside the casing oil filter, a metal-free filter cartridge is arranged. Both the incoming unfiltered fluid line and the outgoing filtered fluid line are integrated into the carrier element. After use, the metal-free filter cartridge can be easily replaced and thermally disposed of.
The carrier element of the invention offers a further possibility for integration with respect to the oil cooler. The oil cooler can either be integrated into the carrier element or flange-mounted thereto. The oil pump disposed inside the carrier element is an internal gear pump, which runs inside a flat pressure die cast component made of aluminum. To seal the crankshaft, which extends through the oil module, the oil module has a sealing ring, which is held in a flange and is provided with a sealing lip or dirt lip made of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Further, an injected silicon seal is provided for axial sealing of the crankcase volume.
The invention further relates to a sealing ring used in the oil module. The sealing ring is pre-positioned by an assembly mock-up of the crankshaft to ensure a precise seat of the seal during final assembly of the oil module and thus a reliable seal of the crankshaft.
These and other features of preferred embodiments of the invention, in addition to being set forth in the claims, are also disclosed in the specification and/or the drawings, and the individual features each may be implemented in embodiments of the invention either individually or in the form of subcombinations of two or more features and can be applied to other fields of use and may constitute advantageous, separately protectable constructions for which protection is also claimed.